We spent the first part of the 4th of July weekend with family up in Atascadero, Ca and it was beautiful but HOT. The highs were over 100 deg F most days, so most riding was done as early as possible. Saturday morning I was up well before the sun,
to head out on a 108 km loop that had been recommended by Big Blue Toe from bikeforums.net. The route would take me through the ranches and coastal range south of Paso Robles, down to the coast from Cayucos to Morrow Bay, through San Luis Obispo and back up the Cuesta grade to Atascadero. Here is the map and stats:
The first third of this ride through the hills along mostly dirt roads was hands down the most beautiful ride I have ever done along the central coast. I look forward to incorporating it into other loops in the area.
On the stretch between Atascadero and the coast I think I saw no more than ten cars. The time of day may have had somethng to do with it, but I will take it where I can get it. The hills have transitionioned from spring green to summer gold, while the trees are green and thick providing welcome shade in many areas.
Twenty miles of country back roads with fourteen miles of well mainteined gravel made for a wonderful morning of riding. For most of the gravel section there was a creek runnng alongside the road with the occasional mini waterfall
After a few hours I had my first glimpse of the coast and ocean:
It looked like there may be a bit of welcome fog hanging on which would help keep the day's temperatures in check. The drop down to the coast was incredible, with ony a short climb along Old Creek Road,
and then down hill the rest of the way.
Once on the coast the temp had dropped almost 10 degrees thanks to the sea breeze. Traffic was still light on the Hwy 1 into Morro Bay, you can just see Morro Rock through the fog.
Once in town it was time for a coffee break. I had been on the saddle for a little over four hours at this point. Morro has no shortage of coffe shopes these days. My Aunt nad Uncle have some friends that own the best IMO, Top Dog, and is well worth a stop if you ar pssing along on this stretch of coast.
Keeping a comfortable pace, fat tires and having you bike well set up makes it much easier to smile like this after 4 hours of non stop riding. The 20 minute break was welcome, but I knew I would regret it as the day was heating up. Back on the road I headed out through the state park and estuary to Los Osos..
From there it was hot and uphill for the long ride home through SLO and back up the grade.
Things were heating up incredibly fast and I knew it was going to be a tough hot ride up the Cuesta grade. Once out of SLO the next 5 miles has a gain of almost 1000 feet. The planned route kept me off of the highway shoulder and on the old Stage Coach Rd, with more gravel. At the start of the way out of town spirits were high, and things were looking good.
An hour and 1000 feet later I was still moving, but thiking this was a much better idea on paper.
In 20/20 hind-sight, and post ride review of the map I realised that many of the bike walking sectoins were pushing 20%. This is still very ridable if you have appropriate gearing and the legs for it. I had both, but had not fully planned for the temps creeping closer to 100 deg. Once over the crest the ride was all downhill.
What an incredible day. Things were going very well untill the climb out of SLO. I slipped on my water intake thinking I was "almost there" and paid the price with some serious cramps setting in 5 miles from home. I have been using a watch to remind me to drink a bottle an hour, but should have been drinking a bit more in anticipation of the rising temps. My usual blend of Hammer Nutrition HEED and Perpetuem was not enough this day. Luckily I was able to lounge in the pool and rest through the rehydration phase.
I look forward to rdiding every leg of this loop in different combinations in the future.
I was able to squeeze in a quick hour spin up the coast this afternoon before dinner. The sun came out, and I was blessed with blue skies for a bit...
The fog was not far off though, and closed back in before I made it home
I was able to take the whole morning for myself yesteray and ride a long mixed terrain loop. I headed out along the Ventura River trail to Sulphur Mountain Road. The whole loop is about 50 miles long, about 1/4 of that is dirt. Lots of climbing and lots of incredible descents. Here is a quick map of the ride:
Almost 50 miles and 4000 feet of climbing.
The weather was incredible, temperature in the 60's the whole time, clear and sunny with just a little coastal haze. The first 8 miles along the paved river trail is a nice way to get the legs warmed up for the climbing to come. Crossing the Hwy 33 onto Sulphur Mtn Rd, it is another 10 miles or so of perfect dirt ranch road.
The grass is already starting to turn brown for the summer, but there is plenty of color left in the trees and wild flowers.
There is no traffic on the road save for the occasional rancher and some cows. THis day was no exception. I saw plenty of birds, cows, squirels, rabbits and a couple of snakes, but only 3 other people. With a couple of level sections and a short drop here and there it is primarily straight up for the whole 8 miles. The road twists and turns affording views of the coast.
On days without our coastal haze, and seasonal fog you can get clear views of the ocean and Chanel Islands. Looking out the other direction is the Ojai valley and the coastal ranges beyond.
After mile 10 things get a little steeper and hotter, usually by this point I am wishing I had left the house a bit earlier to beat the heat. This time I was caught by Jim on his bike and we were able to chat as we spun our way up. It really helped pass the time and the last bit of dirt a gravel passed in no time. Jim turned back to ride down the dirt, I pressed on to the east for a different ride. The road turns to single lane paved fo ra couple of more miles with some welcome tree cover in the afternoon heat.
Then, after 12 miles of climbing I reached my real goal for the day. Five minutes of perfect twisty back road descending. This is my favorite gravity ride in the entire region.
The tires were covered in dust by the time I had reached the top. After the ride down they were cleaned back to black more than half way out to the edges. With the best fun past, I continued east on the Hwy 150 towards Santa Paula. There was a bit of climbing to the summit. Then Downhill all the way in to Santa Paula. This was a refreshing leg of the ride after all of the climbing. Also, I had only ridden this leg westbound in the past. Going down these 6 or so miles was a little more pleasant than the usual slog up.
As I neared Santa Paula I could feel the Spring winds starting to come up and realised the folly of my route planning. All year-long our predominant winds are out of the west off of the ocean. In the spring and fall though it can come up into the 20 mph or greater rang and really change the ride. The next 18 miles were straight into the wind. My legs were fried 5 miles in. The wind was a steady 15 mph with gusts well above 30 mph as I worked my way along the foothills back towards home.
The only consolation was the miles of fresh, silky smooth, black top. This stretch of road is primarily agricultural and has been beat to a pulp over the years. The new pavement was a pleasant surprise, but could not make up for the wind. My legs were starting to cramp and I new I should have packed a backup electrolyte powder. I pushed on knowing I was almost home. The ride back into town was perfect. The wind was still there, but coming straight off the ocean it was 10 degrees cooler.
A little sun burned and a lot tired it was a great way to take a break, get outside and get ready for the next big push. I need to make the time to do this more often.
Back from Waterford and almost good as new,
now to find a little time for touch-up and assembly!
It could have been much worse, although it still takes effort to look at this as a cup half full incident.
Yesterday morning's schedule left me with the opportunity to do what I wanted for five hours or more. I decided it was time to put on some decent miles and headed out on what turned out to be a perfect day for one of my favorite loops.
This ride takes you through some beautiful views of the farms, canyons, lakes and with no fog today the channel islands were spectacular. The route heads east out of Ventura out to Santa Paula, up the Hwy 150 through Ojai and back down to the coast at Rincon. From there it back along the coast to home.
The ride is just over 100km (70 miles) and 4250 feet of climbing. I was able to get it done in five hours and ten minutes, pretty respectable considering it has been months since I did anything over 20 miles. The weather was spectacular, warmer than I expected, no clouds and there was only strong winds on the leg out to Santa Paula. Spring has definitely sprung, the flowers: lupine, mustard, poppy and all the others, are starting to pop.
This is a popular route with the local cyclists and clubs. Today I seemed to be the only one going counter-clockwise as I crossed paths with plenty of other's going the other way. Clockwise lets you slowly work your way up to the Summit and 10 miles down to Santa Paula, I would rather slog up the climb so I can enjoy the twisty drop from upper to lower Ojai.
After the twisty drop it is small towns and rollers to the coast, with a couple of steep pitches through Casitas Pass and then down through the valley to the beach. Everything went better than you could hope for. No mechanical issues, great weather and plenty of time made for a perfect ride. The Roadeo with Jack Browns made me wonder if I will ever ride a skinny tire again.
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I ended up sleeping in a little this morning. Thankfully the slightly longer mornings and the unseasonable weather made for some wonderful light.
Headed up the coast a bit for a quick loop. The coastal range acts as a shield from the local mountain winds. A byproduct of the high pressure dominating our local weather is the wind that comes with it, 30-40 mph gusts my late morning. The wind it the price we pay for 45 deg mornings and 65 deg afternoons in the middle of winter.
Stopping on the way back to enjoy the view of the islands.
and then time to get home and back to work.
Winter Blues January 16 2011, 0 Comments
Another sweet Sunday ride to market in the Bag(s)
Third trip this week with the Roadeo loaded, Every ride I love this bike more and more.
I am so glad not to be living an a place that freezes and stays frozen for months.
Another incredible day, and I had an hour and a half window for Opie(grandpa) to baby sit. I decided to combine errands with the workout. I have a 15 mile loop that lets me hit two grocery stores. Total load and therefore spending are limited by taking the Roadeo. Temps were in the low to mid 50s and wind was crazy, one of the days where you have a headwind more than 3/4 of the ride. 
The layering system for errands is pretty different from what I wear for my morning or non-errand rides. Most of the time I am layered up in some combination of merino wool and polyester to fend off the morning chill. When I know that there is going to be more stop and go, time in stores etc. I wear what most would consider normal street clothes. Flannel being one of my favorite of layers for the cooler months. Today I busted out my new Patagonia Fjord Flannel Shirt in Fusion Orange that the wife picked out for me as a Christmas gift. This is their heavier flannel, and just happens to be a great color combo for playing in traffic. I ride most of the year in long sleeves for sun protection. In the winter, flannel provides a great top layer with just a little wind resistance and the ability to quickly adjust buttons or roll up sleeves as needed. Today there were more than a few adjustments as I had everything from a 15mph tail wind to shady cross winds and then a tail wind home. This shirt ROCKS, it is the first heavyweight flannel I have added to the rotation in years. I have three older ones in the closet, one 8 years old, like silk and covered in patches. I can only hope that this shirt goes the distance as well
Two stops and about 35 lbs of groceries later I was on my way home. As discovered this past weekend, judicious placement of the load has had little detrimental effect on the performance of the Roadeo. This time I was pushing the limit up front with 10lbs, a gallon of tangerine juice, up front in the acorn bag. Another 15 -20lbs in the rear and the frame bag stuffed with rice pasta, yogurt and salsa.
One thing that really helps with the loading, comfort and stability is getting the Rivendell Jack Brown 33.3mm wide tires back on the bike. The added cush soaks up absolutely everything between the crappy roads and the rim.
I have been pushing the limits of how I ride this bike loaded. Rivendell states that they will not put you on a roadeo if you are over 250lbs. I would likely agree that around that weight load the bike becomes compliant to a point where you really need to be paying attention to what you are doing. At the moment I weigh in at about 220lbs. I am working to get that down another 10 lbs and use this as a nimble allroad touring bike for the summer.
Have fun, and get outside!
Update: The shirt is gone for the saeson, What is left in flannel is going fast at the winter sale, time to buy your AC cotton, review coming soon
I could not resist the title with all the love the Roadeo has had with its model name.
Today was much nicer out than last weekend's ride across town to the Channel Islands Harbor farmer's market. Partly cloudy, light breeze and in the upper 50's not quite shorts weather.
With fair weather for the forecast and working out some touring ideas for the spring I spent some time in the morning putting the Jack Browns back on, pulling the fenders and Roughy Toughys off and rotating the Carradice Nelson longflap back on. I have been dropping a little weight and figure that gives me more loading room on the bike without fear of overload and wonky handling.
Market was a success with the dry weather the farmers are able to get more out of the field and not have as bad of mud to contend with. All three bags, Acorn Hobo, the Frame Bag and Nelson were all stuffed to the max.
It would be a lie if I said there was NO change in handling, but nothing went terrible in any way, no wobbles, shimmy, weird pulling or such as can happen when the load is bigger than rider and bike were meant to transport. Cruising speed through the fields was about the same loaded or not.
Riding no hands was easy as always. All of the above needs to be considered in light of the fact that this bicycle is designed and intended to be a lightweight club racer. I am not advocating that you all ditch the heavier touring bikes to load up the club racer, but knowing how and what you bike is made of and can do is a good thin in my opinion.
The Bounty: 2 Dozen eggs, 2 onions, 3 cloves of garlic, 3 heads of brocoli, 1 cauliflower, a bunch of carrots, bag of beet greens, bunch of collard greens, 7 avocados and a large bag of vegetable chips. Not bad for a lightweight steed burdened with my 215 lb self and all that produce.
Next up is to work out some gear lists and see if I can get it in the bags for some quick S24O spring rides.
to head out on a 108 km loop that had been recommended by Big Blue Toe from bikeforums.net. The route would take me through the ranches and coastal range south of Paso Robles, down to the coast from Cayucos to Morrow Bay, through San Luis Obispo and back up the Cuesta grade to Atascadero. Here is the map and stats:
The first third of this ride through the hills along mostly dirt roads was hands down the most beautiful ride I have ever done along the central coast. I look forward to incorporating it into other loops in the area.
On the stretch between Atascadero and the coast I think I saw no more than ten cars. The time of day may have had somethng to do with it, but I will take it where I can get it. The hills have transitionioned from spring green to summer gold, while the trees are green and thick providing welcome shade in many areas.
Twenty miles of country back roads with fourteen miles of well mainteined gravel made for a wonderful morning of riding. For most of the gravel section there was a creek runnng alongside the road with the occasional mini waterfall
After a few hours I had my first glimpse of the coast and ocean:
It looked like there may be a bit of welcome fog hanging on which would help keep the day's temperatures in check. The drop down to the coast was incredible, with ony a short climb along Old Creek Road,
and then down hill the rest of the way.
Once on the coast the temp had dropped almost 10 degrees thanks to the sea breeze. Traffic was still light on the Hwy 1 into Morro Bay, you can just see Morro Rock through the fog.
Once in town it was time for a coffee break. I had been on the saddle for a little over four hours at this point. Morro has no shortage of coffe shopes these days. My Aunt nad Uncle have some friends that own the best IMO, Top Dog, and is well worth a stop if you ar pssing along on this stretch of coast.
Keeping a comfortable pace, fat tires and having you bike well set up makes it much easier to smile like this after 4 hours of non stop riding. The 20 minute break was welcome, but I knew I would regret it as the day was heating up. Back on the road I headed out through the state park and estuary to Los Osos..
From there it was hot and uphill for the long ride home through SLO and back up the grade.
Things were heating up incredibly fast and I knew it was going to be a tough hot ride up the Cuesta grade. Once out of SLO the next 5 miles has a gain of almost 1000 feet. The planned route kept me off of the highway shoulder and on the old Stage Coach Rd, with more gravel. At the start of the way out of town spirits were high, and things were looking good.
An hour and 1000 feet later I was still moving, but thiking this was a much better idea on paper.
In 20/20 hind-sight, and post ride review of the map I realised that many of the bike walking sectoins were pushing 20%. This is still very ridable if you have appropriate gearing and the legs for it. I had both, but had not fully planned for the temps creeping closer to 100 deg. Once over the crest the ride was all downhill.
What an incredible day. Things were going very well untill the climb out of SLO. I slipped on my water intake thinking I was "almost there" and paid the price with some serious cramps setting in 5 miles from home. I have been using a watch to remind me to drink a bottle an hour, but should have been drinking a bit more in anticipation of the rising temps. My usual blend of Hammer Nutrition HEED and Perpetuem was not enough this day. Luckily I was able to lounge in the pool and rest through the rehydration phase.
I look forward to rdiding every leg of this loop in different combinations in the future.
